report from the lake: fried fish eggs and other adventures

Our youngest three ended up staying at their grandparents', where we all converged yesterday for the Memorial Day holiday (see photos). They will remain there until Saturday afternoon. It's sure been a nice way to begin summer vacation, certainly less harried than usual. Indeed, my typically tenuous transition with five home all day every day has been softened by the grandparents' generosity. While I welcome the quiet, it's also caused me to think how boring our lives would be if we'd taken the advice some doled out earlier on in our parenting and just stuck with the first two -- our "perfect" little family of one boy, one girl. Don't get me wrong. We're enjoying having just our oldest two here this week. But it's not normal for us and I feel the void through a lack of liveliness that, I guess, is the norm, the life to which we've become accustomed. It helps that they are in wonderful hands and having adventures they would not be having here in Fargo.

I'm going to move aside now and let Grandma share how things are going in their little Minnesota lake town. (The following is an excerpt from an email I received from her this evening.) 

"I think it was a huge success. We kept the kids busy and they seemed to enjoy themselves very much. Rog went fishing with the boys in the am. Beth and Grandma B went to Target to purchase her BD camera. She was delighted with her purchase. Grandma got her a case, battery charger with rechargeable batteries and a 2 gig memory card. She should be set!!! Hope she takes good care of it now. Those digital cameras really need tender loving care. She caught on to it right away. I think it will be very user friendly. It honestly has a setting that recognizes if the person is smiling or not, and won't take the picture until the smile appears...

"The boys seemed to like fishing and ate the fish that Rog fried for supper. Nick really liked the fried fish eggs. Of course, Grandpa had to bribe them each with a dollar if they would try them. Nick ate more than one. Have great pictures of that to share.

"We took the kids on the pontoon over to the swimming beach for them to play in the sand and get wet. We stayed there until they tired out. We put suntan lotion on, Mom. Missed their ears - they got a little red and their cheeks a little rosy, but nothing serious. That lotion wears off in the water quickly - have to keep reapplying. They had fun - took lots of pictures of that too.

"After supper Beth and I went to get a movie. Before the movie watching they all did their duties. We had a clothes folding party on the living room floor. Each child picked out their own clothes and then folded them. That little Nick is a good clothes folder. We had that task done in no time. Then they each took a bath/shower and cleaned up from the days activities. Now they are watching a movie. Its' been a great day.

"Love, Mom"